Free Spirits
by White Phantom
Summary: Girlfriends are the best distractions from saving the world.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is just a short bit of fluff for my canon quizzie and Sera because they are adorable (and someone on tumblr prompted me to write about lesbians but didn't give me a pairing so I wrote a few different stories)._

...-...

Lorelai Trevelyan let out a startled cry as two splayed hands gripped her breasts and squeezed playfully.

Fortunately, she recognized the giggle behind her before she could conjure any fire and instead reached up and gripped the hands, trapping their own behind her—not that either of them minded.

"Got you," Sera whispered in her ear. Lori could practically hear the coy smile in place as her lover nipped her earlobe.

"You've got something, I'll give you that," Lori replied abruptly throwing her weight backwards as though to fall on Sera.

"Frig it!" Sera pulled one hand free and swung around her so that Lorelai quite abruptly had nothing behind her to stop her fall.

With another cry, she tumbled to the ground, though she was soon laughing, even as Sera plopped herself down on top of her, grin in place. Sera leaned forward, crossing her arms just above Lori's breasts and gave her a smirk. "Didn't think that one through, yeah?"

"I don't know," Lorelai shrugged, letting her hands wander up Sera's thighs and come to rest at her hips. "Turned out pretty well to me. Nice view and all."

Before she could say anything else, Sera had moved up to steal her breath with a sloppy, passionate kiss that Lori was more than willing to reciprocate. Hands wandered, leaves crushed well into Lori's meticulously braided hair, and then a rather loud cough interrupted them even as Lori slid her hands up Sera's shirt.

The both of them stilled a moment before Sera lifted her head and looked over her shoulder. Lori raised her head from the forest floor to see Blackwall and Cassandra standing a few feet from them. Blackwall had a hand covering his mouth, turned to the side so that he wasn't staring outright.

Cassandra, on the other hand, had no issue with that. Instead, her mouth formed a thin line as she watched the two, fingers clutching at the pommel of her blade a bit tighter than usual. "While I am glad for the two of you, I think it would benefit all parties to treat our tasks with the seriousness that is due."

"Oh, piss," Sera muttered in response. "Just 'cause you've got dust in your knickers—"

Blackwall snorted, and Lori couldn't help but smile. However, she did her best to hide it—which wasn't well at all—and lightly pushed on Sera's shoulder. Her lover let out a dramatic sigh, accompanied with an equally dramatic eye roll, and rolled off of her, crossing her arms as she sat where she'd landed, not interested in the urgency Cassandra was trying to instill.

Lorelai started to haul herself up, but stopped short when she felt her breast strap slipping under her shirt. As she crossed her arms across her chest, she turned an incredulous and gleeful look to Sera. "When did you even?"

Sera's response was a wide grin.

With a disgusted noise, Cassandra finally turned away from the two of them, shaking her head. "Would you please hurry up? At this rate, we'll miss the lyrium drop all together."

"Right, right. Saving the world, we'll get right back to that." Lori hesitated, leaning over a little to nudge Sera, "Right after I get help with putting something rather important back into place." She bit her lip, ignoring the others as she grinned at Sera. "Gonna need some nimble fingers for that."

Donning a mock noble air to her voice, Sera nodded. "I s'pose I could do something for that."

Seconds later, Sera was gleefully running off into the woods, Lori's breast strap held high overhead so that it waved like a little banner in the breeze. Blackwall had given up on any attempt to play the mature adult, doubled over laughing as he stood next to Cassandra and Lori. Cassandra held her head in her hands, groaning loudly as Lori crossed her arms and started after her lover.

Maker, but she loved Sera.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This is sort of a background drabble for them._

...-...

"Soaked to the bone, he continued his patrol through the tower," Lorelai said, using her hands to mime out what she was saying. Sera and Marian Hawke leaned in closer, eyes wide.

"I'm calling bullshit," Varric interrupted, sitting back in his chair, arms crossed.

Lorelai mimicked the action and sat back in hers, a single brow arching as she looked him over. "What's this then? You don't think a templar would be steadfast enough in his duties that he'd continue his work?"

"If a mage soaked him through in front of a bunch of other mages? I think he'd lose his shit."

"To be fair, he had it coming, and he knew it." Lori shrugged. "And he was a good sport. Unlike Kirkwall, the prattish templars actually got punished in Ostwick. We didn't have them doing all manner of…whatever."

Lorelai had heard rumors of what happened in some of the worse Circles, and honestly she wished she hadn't. The Circle in Ostwick had been…it felt odd to say better, but it had been. They still weren't allowed outside of the Circle, and it could get tiresome being stuck with the same people forever, and they were always watched, but there hadn't been rampant abuses on the templars' end like in Kirkwall.

It had still felt like a cage to her, but to many who transferred in from other places, it was a paradise. When the Circles had fallen…that had been the first time it had gotten really ugly in Ostwick, and even then the fighting hadn't been as bad as it had been in some of the other Circles.

Lori had suggested they not flee—the idea of leaving the only place she'd known for so long had been a little daunting, and being an academic, she hadn't figured she could outrun the templars anyway—but that hadn't been in the cards.

One of her friends, a templar, had shown her and a few of the little ones a way past the fighting. She'd asked him to come with them—after all, how were they supposed to navigate a world they knew nothing about—but he'd said his duty was to the Circles. He'd told them not to move in a straight path and to try to get to Rivain if they could. They'd be able to claim asylum there, as the Rivaini held mages in high regards. If anyone asked, he would say he thought they were heading south, to Ferelden.

Then he'd disappeared back into the tower. She hadn't seen him since, and constantly worried that he'd died.

Or worse, been turned into a red templar.

It was so unfair that the good so often suffered the same fates as the bad.

Commander Rutherford had once—only once—pointed out that she'd likely know his fate if she'd sided with the templars.

He would never be bringing that suggestion up again.

While Lori didn't personally hate the templars—there was a bit of resentment, but no full blown hate—she _loved_ her fellow mages. She had allied with them because of that love, that bond, that understanding of what they'd been through—even if her imprisonment had been much kinder than most—and she couldn't fathom leaving them to fend for themselves.

Maker, but the two weeks she'd been on her own, trying to take care of four little mages ranging between six and twelve, she'd just about given up and turned herself in to whoever was nearby.

She couldn't imagine how the people who'd been doing this for over a year had managed. The fact that they hadn't all shriveled to skin and bones awed her. She could boil a pot of water, but that was only because she knew fire magic. Whenever she tried to cook something, it always ended up horribly burned and…

It occurred to her that they had likely not been taught survival skills to make it easier to capture them when they fled, and that made her uncomfortable to even think about.

People assumed that because she supported her fellow mages, she must hate the templars, and so comments like Varric's were frequent, and somewhat grating.

She might hate individuals, but…

But she'd been trained from a young age to think they were protectors. And after accidentally setting the family pet, Ser Nuggington, on fire, Lori had believed that protection was indeed needed. He'd lived—Ser Nuggington—though he had squeaked in fear every time he saw Lori, and it had broken her little heart to pieces.

She'd gone with the templars when they came for her without so much as a word of argument.

When she got older, she'd wondered if she might not be disciplined enough to go home, but…surely the Chantry had known what it was doing. They were protecting people, keeping everyone safe.

Or so she told herself.

And then the Circles had fallen, and Lori had gotten to wander around gardens that she hadn't seen since she was a little girl and travel and breathe in fresh air and…

And suddenly she wasn't so sure that she believed in the righteous purpose of the Circles anymore.

Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was her longing for simple, human rights.

She didn't know, and it made her head hurt to try to figure it all out. She'd never been a deep thinker.

Unless it was for pranks. She was good at those.

She'd been the one to suggest they douse the templar in her story.

And even with Varric's disbelief, she was glad she'd told that story.

She could tell Sera liked it.

And Lori liked Sera.

She was one of the few who wasn't constantly asking her her opinion of the Circles or the templars or if magic should be confined or free. While Sera was scared of magic, at least she was open about it, and at least a little willing to learn more about it. So many people would go rigid when Lori cast a spell and then try to pretend they hadn't noticed or that they were fine, all the while sitting there like brittle boards that might break at the slightest poke.

Sera let out the occasional shriek or cursed at the surprise of it, and then _moved on_.

There was more to life than being trapped by fears, and Sera got that.

Even as she considered that Varric's disbelief had somewhat diminished her story, Sera perked up, hair fluttering around her face as she grinned, taking up the helm before any of them could declare that they should head to bed. "Oh, oh. I got one. Right, so. This one time, back in Denerim…"

Despite their small group, Sera's eyes were focused on Lori as she told the story, and that, more than anything else, made Lori feel like the most important person in the world.

Yes, it might hurt her head to try to contemplate the good and bad of the Circles and the Chantry and the templars, but on nights like this, she knew without a doubt that everything that had happened had been for the best, because everything that had happened had led her to Sera.


	3. Chapter 3

Lorelai blinked groggily as she opened her eyes and felt a strange sense of unease was over her. She wasn't in her room. Her book shelf should have been across from her bed, and she should have been able to hear Enchanter Ronsen muttering as he worked on his latest thesis that was bound to be shot down by the templars.

He was always pushing at the borders of what they were allowed to study.

Fear tinged her muddled mind as she wondered if he'd been transferred away overnight.

More and more, the mages who seemed discontent with the Circles were disappearing.

Transferred, the templars would say, to study in other Circles. No one knew if there was any truth to what they said though.

There was no way to know. Even their First Enchanter had been caught off guard by the latest disappearance.

Then she remembered that she wasn't in her room, and panic began to well up in her. Her chest felt heavy, like she was being weighed down.

No. No, no, no.

Was _she_ the one they were disappearing tonight? Was she going to be one of the names that people tossed around, asking what had ever happened to her?

Even as she felt her throat constricting as she tried not to cry out, tried to decide if she would go down passively or fighting, a soft snore jolted her out of her terrified spiral.

Blinking a little more of the sleep from her eyes, she looked down to see that she was laying sideways on a couch of sorts, and that a blonde elf was sprawled on top of her.

No, not an elf.

Sera.

Her Sera.

A wave of relief swept over her as everything came into clear focus again. The Circles were gone, she was free, and meeting Sera was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Taking in a few deep, shaky breaths, she smiled when Sera shifted a little on top of her, mumbling about how it was too early to get up.

Relief washing over her, Lorelai pushed her earlier fears from her mind as she reached out and played with Sera's choppy hair. Her lover let out a contented sigh, snuggling closer to her, a smile curling up her lips, from what Lorelai could see of her face.

Sera always did like when Lorelai played with her hair.

She spent a few more moments watching the way the candlelight danced across Sera's blonde locks before she felt sleep reaching up to reclaim her.

The nightmares from her time in the Circle had begun to fade, but when they came back they brought back all the paranoia that had come with that life, that she had thought was normal.

Now, to be able to be like this was so surreal.

Snuggling down a bit so that her back wasn't quite so crooked, she wrapped her arms around Sera, grinning into her hair as Sera shifted so that her arm and a leg was draped over Lori.

The mark might flare and hurt every now and again, but Lorelai had no doubt in her mind that it was a blessing.

After all, without it, she'd have never found Sera.

The Maker did indeed work in mysterious ways.

...-...

 _A/N: Thank you for reading! If you'd like to see more of these two, feel free to send me prompts!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews!_

...-...

It had started off with a few short drops from fluffy looking clouds that seemed content to keep themselves in the sky, and so their group had decided that with weather like this, they couldn't be bothered with stopping early at the newly made Inquisition camp.

They'd rather regretted that when the sky opened up and dumped what had felt like an entire lake upon them.

Lorelai couldn't say she was truly bothered by any of it, though.

When she'd been a very little girl, she and her father had gotten caught in a storm on the way home, and when she'd jumped at the sound of the thunder, he'd told her she never needed to be afraid.

Now, considering she could make lightning, it made more sense, though she was sure her father hadn't meant it like that.

Rather, he'd meant that being afraid of something you can't change or control would simply lead to unnecessary fear and exhaustion. Better to weather the storm and deal with the fallout after it had passed.

She'd always thought he was a rather brilliant man.

"Your watch is over, so off you go. Roll up cozy, dance in the Fade. Whatever you mageys do, yeah?" Sera plopped down beside Lorelai, where she sat at the entrance to the cave they'd found to shelter in for the night.

Lorelai sighed as she looked back out at the rain. "I thought I'd wait to see the storm out." To see how the world would look after it had passed. She'd spent so long in the Circle, every experience she stumbled into felt like something was happening for the first time.

She wished she could remember her time with her father better.

"Get a proper moon, and it'll be nice enough, I guess," Sera offered with a shrug. Despite her apparent apathy, there was a fondness in her eyes as she watched the rain come down. "Better with you in it."

"Are you telling me to run around in the rain?" Lorelai asked, turning to Sera and giving her a mockingly scandalized look.

"Said then there's a moon, dummy," Sera muttered, though she couldn't keep her frown in place long. Neither of them could hide their smiles.

"I think it'd be better with you in it, too." Leaning over, Lorelai brushed Sera's hair back and kissed her cheek.

Or, she'd intended to.

However, Sera caught on to what she was doing rather quickly, and turned into her kiss, lips turned up in a mischievous smile as one of her hands slid into Lori's hair and the other jerked her closer by the shirt.

Lori fell forwards with more force than she needed to, and both of them collapsed onto the ground in a heap of giggles and kisses.

Cassandra was constantly chastising them for getting distracted with one another when they were supposed to be paying attention to anything else.

"I would not care if you would do this on your own time, but…" The reasons varied. They were tracking templars, trying to sneak up on mages, searching for hidden entrances.

Lorelai considered it for a moment, rocking back just enough that she could look around them, at the rain still coming down, and then their other companions sleeping further in the cave. "You think this counts as our own time?"

"You think I care?" Sera let out a loud laugh, though she quickly bit her lip, glancing in to see if Cassandra was stirring to yell at them. "Miss Dusty Knickers seems to be sleeping alright—"

Without waiting for her to finish, Lorelai let herself fall back to Sera, giggling herself when Sera chased her kiss when she started to pull away again, dragging her back down.

By the time Cassandra woke up for her watch, Lorelai and Sera were both passed out near the entrance, half clothed and wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

With a pronounced sigh, Cassandra shook her head. Then, she gathered Lori's blankets from her bedroll and draped them over the two, careful not to wake them. She'd have to scold them in the morning for leaving their camp unprepared for possible attackers, but that could wait.

At the moment, the rain had stopped, and the moons were lighting up the world as though the stars had fallen down to make everything sparkle.

It was hard to be bothered when the storm had left something so beautiful behind.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you for reading!_

...-...

Lorelai had been setting up their fire—she was trying to do so nonmagically for a change, as it seemed a useful skill—when she happened a glance up toward the heavens.

It had been in general frustration that sticks were so hard to make spark without magic, but as she looked up, she forgot about it completely.

A small, brilliant streak flitted across the sky, disappearing as quickly as it had come. She could remember being told about falling stars when she was little, but she couldn't remember ever having actually seen one.

She must have, to be able to recognize it for what it was.

Weren't wishes supposed to be made upon seeing them?

Even as she made a quick wish and then wondered if there was a time limit to such things, another streak caught her attention.

And then another and another and another.

Maker, it was like the _whole_ sky was falling.

When two hands landed on her shoulders, she just about screamed, though as she looked back, panicked, she found Sera behind her, eyes wide as saucers staring at the fire pit…

No…

She was staring at Lorelai's hands.

Dispersing her magic, Lorelai couldn't apologize enough, though after a quick eye roll, Sera simply pointed up, already forgetting nearly being set aflame herself.

"Pretty, yeah?"

Lorelai looked back up to see the stars were still falling, faster now, dozens at a time. Her chest tightened as Sera slipped her arms around her neck. "There's…"

"Lots, right?" Sera giggled in her ear, rocking back a little and tugging Lori with her. "It's fine and all, yeah? Happens sometimes. Some tits make up reasons for it, but you don't _need_ them. It happens, and it's pretty. Then it goes."

Lorelai relaxed a little, resting partially against Sera as she watched as the stars kept falling. It seemed like more stars had fallen than were actually in the sky and they kept coming, one streak after another. Some brighter and longer, some so short and dim she almost missed them.

"And nothing bad ever happens?" Lorelai asked, despite herself. She thought she'd heard something about this in the Circle once, but one of the other mages had bitterly asked why learn about it at all when they'd never see the sky. The bitter point had made her sad, but she'd seen his reasoning.

And at the time, she'd figured that the Maker just hadn't meant her for such things.

Now, though…

Reaching up to hug Sera's arms, she giggled when Sera fell back and they both ended up on their backs, watching the streaks as they continued to burn bright. The mystery behind them just made them all the better.

Sera was right; they didn't need to know everything.

Falling stars could just be something pretty.

There was one thing she'd learned, though, staring up at that sky.

Star showers were meant for everyone.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you for reading!_

...-...

Lorelai crinkled her nose as she pulled the platter out of the oven, inspecting the way the outer cookies were charred around the edges. She'd burned the fire too hot, too long.

All day, she'd meant to surprise Sera with cookies. Sera wasn't fond of raisins, and Lorelai had never learned to cook proper in the Circle, so she'd figured she would go for something as easy as possible.

Sugar cookies.

They were supposed to be the easiest to make, with the least required ingredients, the least required everything, she thought, and yet…

And yet she'd been caught up in meetings all day long and by the time she managed to make it to the kitchens, the cooks had already turned in for the night.

She'd spent a little bit of time rummaging around and trying to find the ingredients on her own, but that had been a nightmare.

Fortunately, she'd been practicing a few simpler cooking spells for a while now, and had at least known what she was looking for—unlike the first time she tried to make bread, which she dearly wanted to forget.

She'd gathered everything and tried to go by the recipe she'd been given, but it was just…

Was she really supposed to wait so long for it to heat up appropriately?

Sera would be heading to bed soon—if she hadn't already—and she didn't want to serve her love cold cookies. They were supposed to be best when they were fresh and warm, weren't they?

She certainly liked them more that way.

And so she'd figured a bit of fire magic might be the proper boost she needed to help speed the process along.

If the cookies were any indication, she had been very, very wrong.

"Lookit you," her favorite voice in the world cooed from somewhere behind her. Turning, Lorelai saw Sera sauntering toward her, grin in place as she looked her over, stepping slowly with her legs straight out in front of her, hands behind her back. "Watcha making?"

Lorelai glanced down at the cookies, shoulders slumping. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"I'm surprised," Sera argued, a hint of laughter in her voice as she drew close enough to see the pan. Her brow furrowed as she appraised the job Lori had done. "…very surprised." Tilting her head so that her hair fluttered around her, she narrowed her eyes at the pan, leaning toward it. "Never seen nothing quite like this, yeah?"

Lorelai sighed, setting the cookies on the table and then slumping into a stool beside them. "They were supposed to be cookies."

With a snort, Sera leaned toward them poking one near the middle and cackling as it moved easily, still very much dough. "How's that even happen? Burned off around the edges, not even cooked in the middle..." As she tried to lift one of the middle cookies, she found that the bottom was charred to the pan. Her brow shot up. "I see. This's magic-y shite, innit?" She appraised the pan with more care, as though inspecting a snake. "Got all that wrongness happening in all sorts of ways. Cooked and not cooked."

"I threw a fireball under the pan to make it cook faster," Lorelai whispered, shoulders slumping more.

With a sharp peal of laughter, Sera gripped her stomach and then staggered closer and leaned her head on Lori's shoulder. Despite her immense disappointment at her failure, Lorelai couldn't help but fall under the sway of that infectious laugh, giggling herself.

When Sera finally managed to rein in her mirth, she stuck a finger into one of the middle cookies again, scooping up some of the dough and popping it into her mouth. She swished it around on her tongue, gaze rolled toward the ceiling before she finally swallowed. "Don't taste half bad, I suppose. Kinda a weird texture though, yeah? Probably from being half made and all."

Lorelai's humor slipped and she leaned against the table, daring to poke one of the more charred of her creations. "They were supposed to be good." She paused before letting her forehead rest against the table. "A good memory, at least."

"Hey, now!" Sera dragged another stool up beside her and plopped down on it, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Lorelai's shoulders. "It's a plenty good one." She rocked a little, waiting for Lorelai to lift her head and peer up at her. "Your mage cookies are way better than any pride cookies." She pressed a quick kiss to Lorelai's neck. "Bit harder to chew, but you can't win them all, yeah?"

Tentaively, Lorelai reached out and pinched off a piece of one of the more edible cookies. When she tried it, she let out a half laugh, nearly forgetting to swallow. "These are terrible."

"Maybe," Sera admitted, giggling again. She rested her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "But I still like them most."


	7. Chapter 7

Lorelai collapsed into a heap of blankets the likes of which she had never seen before. In the Circle, they were each given one blanket—two on the rare occasion that it actually got cold in Ostwick. In Haven, she'd thought having three was a fantastic luxury, though she'd felt somewhat guilty that she was getting so much when there were others there who could probably use them.

After all, she had fire magic.

But here…

Here in Val Royeaux it was different.

There was so much excess everywhere. In the designs of clothes, in the buildings' architecture, in the music and the food. In the way people talked to one another.

It was hard to believe that there could be so much so close to a place that had so little.

Even as she buried her face in an impossibly soft blanket, she felt a trill of guilt run through her.

There were others who needed this sort of thing a lot more than she did.

Everyone was calling her the great Herald of Andraste, weren't they? Maybe she could use that…could try to make a connection or…

She didn't really know how politics worked, but she hopped to her feet and rummaged through her bag, looking for some paper and ink.

Of course, she'd used the last of hers.

"What's this then?"

Lorelai jumped, looking around the room until she found the newest addition to their ragtag team of 'heroes'.

She felt her heart skip a beat as she met the elf's gaze. She was so…odd. In a good way. Her hair had been sheared off at odd angles, and yet she looked absolutely stunning, like that was how her hair was meant to be. Her clothes all sported tears and stains, yet somehow, she held the presence of a queen.

Not that Lorelai would tell anyone that.

They'd probably think her silly.

The elf's eyebrow arched, a suspicious look taking over her. "You just gonna sit there with your mouth hanging open or you gonna do something?"

Coughing and feeling more the fool than usual, Lorelai couldn't hide the blush that settled on her cheeks. "Sera, isn't it?" When the elf nodded, she rose to her feet, clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides, not sure what to do. "I, um, I wanted to…make a note of maybe…getting blankets."

A bark of a laugh escaped Sera as her eyes widened, flitting toward the mountain heap on Lorelai's bed and then back to her. "Shite. You don't got enough of them here?"

"Well, that's it," Lorelai perked up a little. "There's so many here, but a lot of people at Haven are cold and I thought…maybe we could find some extras around here…" Her gaze darted toward the offending mound of cloth as well before she crossed her arms, wishing she could make herself a little smaller. "I can't find any paper to make a note."

"Gonna forget that easily?"

"Ah, no," Lorelai shifted a little and shrugged. "I've never been really great at, um, persuasion?" It came off as more of a question than a statement and she winced a little. "I thought, if I had some paper, I could practice what I was going to say to the quartermaster."

Scoffing, Sera hopped off the sill and wandered further into the room, idly appraising all the shiny trinkets set around the room. "Aren't you all Heraldy, though? Can't you just tell them—"

"She's a little scary," Lorelai whispered before she could stop herself.

Sera stopped in her tracks, turning slowly to look back at Lorelai, brow arched. "You…you're joking, right? Priggish thing to tease over, but surely…" She crossed her arms, hips shifting along with her weight. "Don't they teach you all that politicking and nobly stuff back home?"

"I'm a mage, so no." Lorelai reached up and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Mages don't usually have titles or…anything."

The word tripped off her tongue, and she felt awkward saying it. Like she was complaining about her lot in life.

"So…noble blood, but still snubbed?" Sera nodded to herself rather than wait for an answer. "Suppose it sounds about right. And you want blankets for…other people?"

Lorelai nodded, lightly thumping the heels of her palms against her sides. "That was the plan."

"I've got you, herald." A mischievous smile crossed the elf's face before she darted back out the window and into the night. When Lorelai looked for her, she was gone.

She wasn't afforded much time to speak with Sera again until they got back to Haven, as most of her trip was spent speaking with First Enchanter Vivienne and then there were exhausting meetings about what would be done with the Chantry so broken as it was.

However, when she finally got a chance to go to the little hut they'd given her at the end of the night, she'd stopped when she opened the door and found a rather familiar, soft blanket draped over her bed.

She moved forward slowly, feeling it beneath her fingers, and then whirled around, darting through the streets until she could find Quartermaster Threnn.

Instantly, her pace slowed as the woman turned a sharp gaze toward her. She put a hand on her hip and nodded once to Lorelai. "Suppose we have you to thank for whatever deal you made with those Orlesian snobs?"

"What?"

"The blankets," the quartermaster clarified before sighing. "They're a bit fancy, but the place said they were going to throw them out anyway, so here we are. I'm half tempted to take them apart for the thread and cloth, but…I suppose people do need to stay warm, and they have more immediate uses."

Lorelai nodded slowly, uncomprehending, as the quartermaster dismissed herself and walked off, muttering something about Ferelden blankets being more durable.

"There are certain 'standards' inns in Val Royeaux got, yeah?"

Lorelai jumped and turned to see Sera leaning against a post near her, that mischievous grin in place.

"Can't have their posh guests sleeping on something with a tear in it. Don't matter how little." Sera pushed away from the post and sauntered over. "I made sure we sewed up anything that might unravel, but good's good yeah? You got your blankets and people seem to like them well enough."

There was a moment's pause before, unthinking, Lorelai flung her arms around Sera, dragging her in for a tight hug. "You're the best."

Sera let out an awkward laugh, tentatively patting one of Lorelai's shoulders before letting she let her go. "You're looney, you know that?" Even as Lorelai felt her ears and cheeks burning, Sera's surprise shifted to that grin again. "Not so bad, either. See you around, herald." At that, she made a face and shook her head. "Herald? Ugh, we'll have to do something about that."


	8. Chapter 8

When Lorelai came to, she was resting in her tent, with her blankets pulled over her a bit too tightly, stopping just below her collarbone. As she reached up to feel why there was a similar tightness on her head, her arm let out a warning throb, and she stopped.

That seemed to be all it took for the other places to start hurting as well, and she grimaced as she tried to think what could have possibly happened.

Slowly, the memories of the last few days came back. They'd been tracking some bandits in Ferelden who had started harassing some of the Inquisition's outposts. They'd managed to track them down to their base, and had gotten into one hell of a fight. They'd had the upper hand, but near the end, Sera had been taking care of a few ranged fighters when a warrior had come lumbering up behind her.

Lorelai's mana had been almost completely exhausted, but she'd thrown fire at the warrior, drawing his attention as it licked ineffectually over his armor and…

Maker, he'd moved faster than she'd expected.

One second he'd been about to hurt Sera, and the next she'd seen his maul swinging toward her and she'd tried to duck out of the way, but…

If the pains in her were any indication, she hadn't done a very good job of that.

However, as the warrior had overtaken her, she'd heard Sera scream.

Maker! Sera!

Had there been another warrior she'd missed? Was she alright?

Lorelai shot upright only to cringe into herself. Everything hurt now, or at least it felt like it did.

She must have cried out or made some noise, because no sooner had she started to crumple in on herself, Cassandra was beside her, helping to ease her back down.

"You must rest." There was heavy disapproval in her voice, though Lorelai thought she could hear a bit of concern hidden beneath it.

Yes, it was there in the pinch of her brow, too.

Lorelai took a moment to let her different aches settle into dull throbs before mustering her voice. "Is Sera alright?" She was surprised by how much it hurt to talk.

With a snort, Cassandra shook her head. Then, realizing she'd given Lorelai the wrong impression by the fear that flooded her features, she reached out and placed her hands on Lorelai's shoulders. "Sera is fine. A scrape or two, but nothing worse than usual." As Lorelai tried to find the strength for another question, Cassandra hushed her. "You fared far worse, Lorelai."

"But she's okay?" Lorelai's voice rasped, fighting to even be used. The thought of that brute stalking up behind Sera was haunting. If something ever happened like that and Lorelai didn't act fast enough…

As she glanced around the tent, moving her head as much as she dared, she was distraught to see that Sera's bedroll was missing.

Cassandra followed her gaze and then sighed. "She…I believe she was upset by your foolishness. And your injuries," Cassandra murmured, before adding, "And the fact that she couldn't help you, I think." When Lorelai tried to get up, Cassandra caught her shoulder. "You will just make things worse, moving around as you are."

"Will you…" Maker, it hurt to talk, but Lorelai distinctly remembered the dream Sera had had a while back, where she'd been afraid of losing Lorelai. "Will you ask her to come see me?"

"I will. After I help you into some clean bandages. We have poultices coming in from one of the other outposts, but it will take a day or two for them to arrive." Her voice was a continuous drum on what had happened in the day and a half that Lorelai had been unconscious, though she could barely pay attention to Cassandra's briefing. She was too worried about Sera.

Despite Cassandra promising that she'd been true to her word, Sera didn't come by the next day.

Nor the next day nor the next nor the next.

Finally, Lorelai could take it no more. The poultices were working wonders, and she was well enough that they were going to head out in the morning.

However, she couldn't wait that long to see Sera.

Despite Cassandra's constant reassurances, she just knew something must have gone wrong.

She found Sera sitting at the edge of camp, though as soon as the elf saw her, she hopped from her perch, a look of panic in her eyes as she hurried into the nearby woods.

With a frown, Lorelai followed after her, though it was a bit harder to keep up, with her current aches still enough to slow her down. Ignoring them, Lorelai took in a deep breath to call for Sera to come back, but the mere action sent a blossom of pain through her.

When she came to, she had crumpled to the forest floor, and Sera was beside her, swearing and crying.

"Sera," she whispered, hoarse.

"No!" Sera snapped, jerking to her feet and taking a few steps back. "You promised! You swore!" Even as Lorelai's mind—muddled as it was—went back to Sera's dream, the elf proved her right. "You made me so I can't lose you! And then you—"

Her voice broke and she fell into silence, gripping herself as though she was afraid the world was falling apart.

"It's the same for me."

As soon as she said it, Sera dropped to her knees in front of Lorelai, leaning toward her, worried. "You…"

"I can't lose you, either," Lorelai whispered, trying not to cry as she thought of the last few days, and the warrior coming up behind Sera before that. "I thought…he would kill you."

And with that, the tears came unbidden.

"Piss," Sera muttered, reaching forward to hold Lorelai, only to jerk her hands back when Lorelai winced. "I can't even hug you…"

And then they were both crying.

Lorelai managed to stifle her tears first, edging closer to Sera so that she could lean against her. "I miss you."

This time, Sera was more careful when she gripped Lorelai, keeping her arms near her shoulders to avoid her injuries. She still squeezed her a bit too tight, but Lori couldn't bring herself to mind. "I can't lose you."

"Me neither." Lorelai slipped her arms around Sera as best she could.

Blackwall was the one to find them in the woods, curled up together, sleeping awkwardly against one another. He carried Sera back while Cassandra got Lorelai. When Cassandra muttered that they were both fools, Blackwall couldn't help but grin. "Lovesick fools, maybe."

Despite the disgusted noise that caught in her throat, he knew she thought so, too.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you for reading!_

...-...

The arrow thudded into the target, and Lorelai couldn't help but beam. It was the fourth bullseye that Sera had hit in a row. Someone had suggested an archery competition earlier that morning, and when Lori had asked if Sera wanted to join, she'd simply smirked and then begun to show off.

Lorelai had seen people shoot bows before, yet whenever Sera did it, there such grace in her motions, such mastery. She felt like she could watch her do damned near anything for hours.

"Lookit you, all starry eyed." Sera teased as she plopped down beside Lori, a grin in place.

"You're very good." As Lorelai brushed some of her hair back behind an ear, Sera puffed up a bit, smiling from the compliment.

"Gotta be good at something." Even though she seemed ready to dismiss it, there was pride in her tone. Then, even as Lori felt herself comfortable with the silence between them, Sera rose from her seat, swinging her arms as she sighed. "Oh nug shite. I can see our dear ambassador is looking for you. Can't let you do nothing for a minute, can they?"

Lorelai looked up to see Josephine was indeed looking around, likely for her.

They really couldn't let her be most days, or so it seemed.

However, they did tend to leave her to her own devices if she was already deemed something that could be considered important enough…

"Do you think you could teach me that?"

"What?" Sera looked down at her, bewildered.

As Lorelai rose to her feet, she motioned to Sera's bow and then the targets. "To shoot a bow. I…magic can get interrupted, you know. And then…I'd be defenseless. Unless—"

"'Less you learn something proper like," Sera finished, a slow, mischievous grin taking hold. "Twangs and enemies like pincushions wouldn't be expected from a mage, neither. It'd help with all sorts of stuff."

"Certainly," Lorelai nodded, taking Sera's hand and ducking behind a few boxes as Josephine looked their way.

"Well, no girl of mine, herald or not, is going to be caught unawares." She hopped up, ignoring when Josephine called her name, knowing that wherever Sera was, Lorelai was bound to be near. "Come on, then. Let's get you a bow and see where you're at with it." As they darted toward the armory, both too giddy to noticed that the people around them had noticed Josephine's pleas for their attention, Sera laughed. "It'd be great if you catch on quick. Fine if you don't, of course."

Lorelai laced her fingers with Sera as they fled her responsibilities.

Whether or not she ended up decent with a bow hardly mattered to her. So long as Sera was her teacher, she'd be happy, even if she never hit a target.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: They live happily ever after, btw. Not really spoilers, since this is my canon pairing. Just...wanted to make sure that bit was clear, haha._

...-...

It's a simple thing, really, a twist of a flower's stem with fabric, but it's all they can do on such short notice.

Lorelai wishes she'd invested in a ring, but it somehow never crossed her mind. Mages didn't get married. They didn't stand before the Maker and proclaim love for another.

Maker, most of the time it was hard to even find someone who would stand with them.

But Sera had asked for Lorelai's hand in marriage.

It was real.

Real like the sunlight they napped in on the balcony, real like the flowers Sera liked to tuck into Lori's hair when she wasn't paying attention, real like the horribly trite poems that Lorelai would write for Sera, which they both always laughed at.

That had been plenty for her, more than she'd ever expected she would get in life.

And then Sera had proposed.

The timing was perfect. Everything was…between her arm and the impending qunari invasion and the Inquisition being nitpicked to pieces, Lorelai had needed something good.

She'd kept telling herself that she had Sera, that their love was enough to keep her going, even when the looks people gave her reminded her of when she'd first been carted off to the Circle, even when the pain in her hand was so unbearable that she thought she might pass out.

This, though, somehow just knowing that Sera would want to declare to the world that she'd spend the rest of her life with Lori, it made the colors brighter, the days warmer, and the pain recede.

Maker, they were getting married!

Neither of them were overly patient when it came to such things, and second Lori had said yes, the planning had been on.

Best to do it quickly, before any uppity prick with a stick shoved up their arse could ruin it.

Before the magic in her arm became too…

It was best to do things quickly.

Lorelai almost wished that she'd thought to get Sera a proper ring—she'd read books about this sort of thing, mostly when she was being punished and having to read to the apprentices, seeing as she'd given up on reading about what happened outside those awful walls.

For an instant, she'd worried that they wouldn't be able to do things right. Sera deserved at least that much.

But then, they weren't much for conventions, anyway.

Hair ribbons and flowers were wound together to make makeshift rings, which they giddily tied on one another's fingers before it occurred to them that they were supposed to do that at the end.

As Sera looked at her ring, she cocked her head. "Well, the city's crawling with chantry folk. Shouldn't be too hard to get someone to tie the knot."

"C'mon!" Lori grabbed Sera's hand and dragged her through the courtyards, dodging into shrubs to avoid certain nobles who she knew. Too many Orlesians wanted her wrapped around their fingers.

Just as she wondered if that phrase had anything to do with the sort of thing she and Sera had done for their rings, a voice whispered in her ear.

"Inquisitor."

Lorelai had to slap her hand over her own mouth to keep herself from screaming as she whirled, half backing into Sera as she looked to see who had found them.

Leliana knelt beside them, pristine Divine's robes slightly tangled in the twigs. "I hope you are hidden for good cause."

"We need you to marry us." The words came out in a single exhale as Sera darted around so that she was beside Lorelai, arms looped.

"Now?"

They nodded in unison.

"Is there a need for it to happen in the shrubs?"

"Pfft." Sera snorted, at that, leaning her head on Lorelai's shoulder and then nodding.

Heat crept up Lorelai's cheeks as she shook her head. "It was…there were a lot of people between us and you, and this way was faster."

"I see."

Leliana was the first to slip out of the greenery, offering her hand to Lorelai and helping her and then Sera out into the open. As she carefully went about removing a few of the larger twigs and leaves from their hair, Leliana clucked her tongue. "You know, I have some dresses in my quarters. The nobles are always gifting me such pretty things…it is a power grab, of course, but useful in cases such as this. I do believe they could be tailored to look quite fetching on the both of you, if you'd like."

…-…

Two hours and one incredibly rushed and harried seamstress later, Lorelai and Sera stood before Leliana, with Cassandra and Blackwall having been hurried in to join them. Blackwall had let out a bark of a laugh when he realized what was happening, and Cassandra had instantly taken to telling the both of them how gorgeous they were.

Sera's dress was white with gold trim on the bodice, her shoulders bare, and a flower crown in her hair. Lori's neckline was a little higher, dipping in a V in front, and tied behind her neck, leaving most of her back exposed. She wore a matching flower crown, though Sera had woven a few extra flowers into her hair, ignoring the seamstress when she'd said she needed space to work.

Leliana stood before them, hands clasped and a knowing smile in place as she watched them a moment before motioning to each. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes!" Cassandra cried from behind them.

Blackwall let out a single bark of a laugh before biting back the rest and nodding for them to go ahead.

Sera and Lorelai gave each other another hug before turning to face Leliana.

With that, she began to speak, her words soft, but strong, talking less from the Chant itself, but more from the world she had seen and how love did indeed seem to conquer most everything.

When she was done, she nodded to them. "Would you like me to say vows for you to repeat or do you have your own?"

Lorelai's mouth dropped open a second before her attention snapped to Sera. "I'll love you forever. And longer. You're the best person in my life and the greatest thing that ever happened to me was meeting you."

"Shite, how'm I supposed to beat that?" Sera whispered before nodding. "Me too, yeah? You make the world better, and for everybody, but especially me. You got a big heart and a good head and a great arse. I love you. Always."

"Well then, my lovely brides," Leliana reached out and took their hands, pretending to just notice the already present rings. "You may kiss."

And that they did, fingers in hair knocking flower crowns askew and bunching up the fabric of their gowns.

For no matter what might come, no matter what dangers lay ahead and what fates might have in store, they had this moment, and it was so completely and utterly perfect.


	11. Chapter 11

Lorelai drummed her heels against the stones around the fountain where she'd taken up a seat half an hour ago. The sun was setting, and the lamplighter had already come by, giving her a curious once over before deciding she was hardly worth his time. He had a job to do, after all.

He had a job, and she had…

Corypheus was dead, and the Inquisition was slowly folding in on itself as the threats they'd come together to defeat dwindled.

The inquisitor wasn't needed so much anymore, and that was why she'd felt it might be a good idea to take a break.

Well, a break felt like such a lazy thing to call it.

The battles were won, and the remnants of the red templars and venatori were being tracked down and taken out. The rifts had been sealed away.

To her, it felt like her job was pretty much done.

Except that the nobility didn't seem to think so. The Fereldens were increasingly short with her and the Orlesians were a bit too…

Orlesian.

With Vivienne gone back to maintain her lonely little Circle—very few mages were opting to stay in one, and most had gone with Fiona instead—Lorelai found that she didn't have a good ally to help her navigate the Orlesian Game.

Josephine was a help, for sure, but she hadn't had quite the influence that Vivienne did.

Lori had just wanted a bit of time away from them, to be able to wander around as Lori instead of the grand Inquisitor.

And so she'd proposed a trip to one of the lesser known Orlesian towns near the sea, so that she could unwind a little. So that she wouldn't have to hear someone shout one of her titles every hour.

And sure enough, no one knew her, here.

She should have been happy, all in all, but there was one, rather important piece of the picture missing.

Sera.

Her love had promised to meet her there, saying she had Red Jenny business nearby.

She was supposed to have wrapped things up the day before, and yet…

And yet Lori had spent the night alone.

As she sat there, by the fountain, she considered that she hadn't really wanted to go unrecognized after all.

She'd just wanted one person to know her.

With a sigh, she thumped her heels down together and wondered if she ought to just head back to Skyhold. After all, she'd gotten what she wanted, hadn't she?

A break.

As she rose to her feet, one of her shoulders hit into an arm that had been angled rather awkwardly over her. It was just enough to knock her off balance, and she fell backwards into a body and then the fountain.

There was splashing, sputtering, and floundering, before she finally managed to get the water out of her eyes and look up to see Sera doing the same.

A crooked grin was in place as Sera shook her head and water went everywhere.

Even as Lori let out a laugh, Sera's smile grew even wider. "Good. Saw you looking like a lost lump and felt bad that things went sideways before."

"Should I have gone with you?" Lorelai asked, finding her footing and sloshing her way out of the fountain. When she was out, she held a hand out to Sera to help her out as well.

"Nah, that woulda just been…" Sera trailed off and shrugged before leaning up and kissing Lori quickly on the nose. "We're here though, yeah? Let's not sweat the past stuff. Got plenty to do now."

Sera's wink implied the things she had in mind.

With a laugh, Lorelai draped her arms over Sera's shoulders and rested her forehead against hers. "Better be good. After all the waiting I did."

Sera let out a chuckle. "Lookit you, all demanding like. Still got those Inky breaches on, hmm?"

"You'll just have to get me out of them."

With a sharp, loud laugh, Sera wrapped her arms around Lori's waist, tugging her closer. "I think I can manage that."

Neither of them noticed the chill in the air as they practically danced their way through the streets, soaking wet as they were, hands clasped and giggles drawing out smiles from the rare few still out and about at this hour.

As they reached the inn's door, Lorelai could have sworn the fire in the lamp beside the stoop looked more welcoming than it had the night before.

With an impish smile, she turned and caught Sera in a quick kiss, the lamplight dancing over their wet hair and making their skin shimmer.

And then they went inside to make up for every second of lost time.


End file.
